61 yr old woman trampled to death by cows after 'her dog's barking spooked them'

A retired mother of two was trampled to death by cows as she walked her dog in a field. Marilyn Duffy, 61, a former school secretary, was killed by the 20-strong herd on her regular morning route near her home.

Police believe her dog’s barking may have spooked the cattle, which are highly protective of young calves. Mrs Duffy was knocked down and crushed by the cows, thought to be Friesians, which weigh about half a ton each. The tragedy is the latest in a spate of fatal tramplings, and happened just two miles from a field in which a woman was killed two years ago. Yesterday a memorial site to Mrs Duffy was set up on Facebook. Her husband Roger, 65, and their daughters Caroline, 33 and Angela, 31, were too upset to talk about the incident, which happened on Monday afternoon in the village of Radyr, Cardiff.

Police would not confirm what happened to Mrs Duffy’s pet following the stampede.A neighbour said: ‘She was walking her dog and unfortunately the cows took exception to it and she was killed by the cows. They are not domesticated animals, they are wild beasts and it was just an unfortunate thing.’

Another local resident added that dog owners had stopped taking their pets along the path since the attack. ‘She must have worried the cows because obviously they’ve got calves there, and the cows surrounded her and trampled her,’ she said.